Shopping bag



' Sept. 19, 1961 c. w. STANGE ETAL 3,000,549

SHOPPING BAG Filed March 17, 1959 FIG. 3

INVENTORS no CHARLES w. STANGE HAROLD 2. SMlTH ATTORNEY pany, NJ.

Filed Agar. 17, 1959, Ser. No. 800,034

Claims. (Cl. 229-54) This invention relates to a new type of shopping bag and is directed particularly to shopping bags having handles with protective means therefor. I

Most shopping bags are provided with a handle which projects beyond the edge or top of the bag in position to permit easy carrying of the bag. The bags themselves are generally formed of paper" or similar material and the handles are ordinarily made of flexible material such as cord, paper, or thelike."

When the bags are arranged for storage or shipping and when placed in bag dispensing equipment, they are folded flat with the handles of the bags in each package or group of bags facing in the same direction and positioned adjacent or in contact with each other. The handles frequently are bent or flexed sideways in packaging and storing the bags and, as a result, they often become entangled with one another rendering it difficult to separate the bags without displacing or damaging other bags. Moreover, if the bags are to be dispensed one at a time from a supply of bags maintained in mechanical dispensing equipment, the tangled or displaced handles often catch on each other or on the folded bottom of an adjacent bag or some other object or part of the equipment causing the equipment to jam or operate improperly.

In accordance with the present invention, these objections and limitations in usage of prior shopping bags are overcome and means provided which prevent the tangling of the bag handles or interference thereof with adjacent bags in a package, stack or supply.

These advantages are preferably attained by providing each bag with a handle together with protective means or a shield which projects from the bag adjacent the handle and into position to prevent the tangling of a bag handle with another even when the handles are deflected or bent sideways. In the preferred form of the invention, the protective means or shield is in the form of a sheet or piece of material which is carried by the body of the bag and projects therefrom beyond the sides or end of the handle.

Accordingly, the principal object of the invention is to provide a shopping bag with a handle and means for preventing entangling or catching of the handle with the handle or other portion of an adjacent bag or object.

A specific object of the invention is to provide a shopping bag with a flexible handle and protective means which project beyond the ends and sides of the handle.

A further specific object of the invention is to facilitate the dispensing of shopping bags by means of mechanical or coin controlled equipment.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will appear from the following description thereof wherein reference is made to the figures of the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustrating a typical form of shopping bag embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view through the handle portion of the shopping bag of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a side elevation showing a group or supply of shopping bags of the type illustrated as arranged for dispensing by mechanical equipment.

In that form of the invention chosen for purposes of illustration in the figures of the drawing, the shopping nited States Patent 3,000,549 Patented Sept. 19, 1961 2 bag has a body 2 with a bottom 4 adapted to be folded flat againstthe body of the bag when the bag is not in.

" use and when assembled with other bags for storage, shipany desired or preferred type but are ordinarily made of flexible material. In a typical construction such as that illustrated in FIG. 2, the handle may be formed of cordage or heavy twine and have the opposite ends thereof I secured between the inner and outer layers 16 and 18 of double thickness paper or the like forming the body 2 of the bag. I

The handles. of the baq project beyond the top edges 6 at the bag so as to enable the users hand to pass there-. through as shown in .dotted lines in FIG. 2. However,, ih'order' to prevent "the handles on one bag from tangling with the handles on an adjacent bag, a shield or protecting member 20 is carried by the bag and normally extends outward beyond the edge 6 of the bag and beyond the handles 8 and 10. The shield 20 may be formed of paper or other flexible material so that it can be displaced outwardly away from the handles when they are grasped by a user. The shield 20 may be secured to the exterior of the body of the bag in any suitable way as, for example, by adhesive 22 or a staple 24 or both as shown in FIG. 2. However, if preferred, the shield may be secured in place between the layers 16 and 18 of a double walled bag.

In any event, the shield 20 should be located outside or exteriorly of the handle and preferably is wider and longer than the handle so as to project beyond both the sides and ends of the handle. The handles of adjacent bags will, therefore, be spaced apart when the bags are in their folded position and arranged for packing, storage or for dispensing by mechanical equipment. Such separation of the handles serves to prevent the tangling thereof even when they are bent sideways against the bottom of a container 26 or other surface as shown in FIG. 3 during packaging or handling of the bags. Thus, the pair of handles on each bag is separated from the handles on adjacent bags by the shields 20 no matter what position the handles may assume. Furthermore, if the bags are pulled lengthwise or sideways so as to be separated one at a time from a stack or supply of closely positioned bags, the shield 20 is interposed between the handles and the folded bottom of an adjacent bag or other surfaces or elements across which the bag may be drawn. It is, therefore, possible to move and separate one bag from the supply without displacing other bags or causing jamming or interference in the movement of the bags during dispensing thereof by mechanical equipment.

While the construction shown in the drawings illustrates a shopping bag having a shield or guard on one face only of the bag, it is, of course, possible to provide shields positioned exteriorly to both handles of the bag or to provide a shield of such length as to be folded over the handles from one face of the bag to the other. The shield also may be perforated along a line adjacent the top of the bag as shown at 28 in FIG. 1 to permit the shield to be torn off or at least partially removed when the bag is to be used since the shield then is not needed and it may tend to obstruct or interfere with the use of the handles. The material of which the shields are formed may be paper, fabric, plastic film or any other suitable material and it may be constructed as an extension of the outer layer 16 of a multi-walled bag so as to be integral with the body of the bag.

These and other variations and modifications may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the bag handles and shielding'means therefor. In view thereof, it should be understood that the particular embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing and described above is intended to be illustrative only and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A shopping bag comprising a body having side walls embodying a plurality of layers of'material located adjacent the top of the bag, handles formed of cord-like material having the ends thereof disposed between said layers and extending upward beyond the top of the bag, and a shield for said handles in the form of a sheet of flexible material secured to the exterior layer of material adjacent the top of the bag and projecting upward there from adjacent and beyond the exterior of the sides and ends of said handles.

"2. A shopping bag comprising a body having side walls embodying a plurality of layers of material located adjacent the top of the bag, a pair of handles for said bag arranged in parallel positions at opposite sides of the bag, said handles being formed of cord-like material having the ends thereof disposed between said layers and extending upward beyond the top of the bag, and a shield for said handles in the form of a sheet of flexible material secured to the exterior layer of material adjaoent the top of the bag and projecting upward therefrom adjacent and beyond the exterior of the sides and ends of said handles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Simpson July 25, 1950 

